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Tag: translation

OK, so it’s still cold out, but spring is here. Along with blackest humor. “Taubenvergiften im Park” was written by Georg Kreisler, “Poisoning Pigeons in the Park” was penned by Tom Lehrer. So: Did Lehrer steal the song from Kreisler, or was it the other way around? Lehrer had more chutzpah, and thanked Kreissler for “popularizing his songs in German”. Kreissler was sehr böse darüber.

I hate translating complicated inversions from German into English. German academics love them, probably because it proves that they can juggle an idea in the air for minutes on end. Ok, guys, yes, you are geniuses. Can we go home now? You see, then a poor translator gets it, and those academics need the translators because who has time to learn German? I love German, yes I do, but on some days, you know… augh! I enjoyed this video by Ze do Rock (teil 1 der trilogie ‘fom winde ferfeelt’), which says it all.